Christians Mark Time Differently

 

Just a couple weeks ago, we celebrated Easter.  Of course, we in the English-speaking world are the only ones who use this term, or anything like it.  The ancient Church, and present day Christians of other languages use some variation on the term Passover or Resurrection to refer to the day of celebrating Jesus’ rising from death.  This is because the day celebrates more than a mere season, but an event that occurred in real time and space, and that event is the anchor of a way of marking time completely different than that of the surrounding world.  Much like the future eternal life of the Christian is one that will be lived out in space and matter, the present life of the Church is also one marked within time and space, rather than one which disregards these material facets of our existence. 

 

Days like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and Super Bowl Sunday are not a part of this calendar, since those are national holidays, unique to the United States.  Instead, this includes seasons like Advent, Epiphany, or Lent, and festivals like Pentecost, Ascension, and All Saints.  The resurrection is the anchor point of this calendar, as both the oldest and most significant event it contains.  Leading up to Resurrection Sunday is a series of seasons and festivals related to the life of Jesus, and following the 8-week festival of the Resurrection continues with a time that reflects on the teachings of Jesus and the life of the Church as it awaits his return.

 

This way of marking time was so prominent in the lives of Christians that during many centuries of church history, they did not date their letters and speeches with the Gregorian dates we presently see uniformly used, like March 25, 2021, Instead, they would use a reference to the church year, such as “Fifth Sunday in Lent, AD 2021” or “Thursday of Pentecost 12, AD 2021.”  When we understand time in such a way, and revolving around the life of Jesus, we also live, knowing that our future is in His hands, and free from the anxiety of carefully watching the world’s dangers and disasters, or and living by its time and its fears, but knowing with certainty what is prayed during the Easter Vigil: 

 

“Christ Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and forever, the beginning and the ending, the Alpha and the Omega.  His are time and eternity; His are the glory and dominion, now and forever.  By His wounds we have healing both now and forever…  May the light of Christ, who is risen in glory from the dead, scatter all the darkness of our hearts and minds… Amen.”